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The Power of Protest in Myanmar

September 5, 2022/in Justice Newsletters

For decades, people in Myanmar have come together to protest and call for greater protection and enforcement of their fundamental rights and freedoms. Pivotal moments throughout the country’s history took place during moments of frustration from brave citizens who demanded a better future for themselves and the next generation. The attempted coup in Myanmar is […]

Junta troops kill 12, burn hundreds of homes in 11 days of raids in Sagaing

September 2, 2022/in News

Sources said 20,000 residents from 80 villages fled their homes amid the attacks. Junta troops in Myanmar’s Sagaing region have killed at least 12 civilians and burned down more than 500 houses in 11 days since entering the region’s northern townships of Kawlin, Kanbalu and Kyunhla, villagers and local defense groups said Friday. Sources in […]

The Power of Protest in Myanmar

September 5, 2022/in Justice Newsletters

Junta troops kill 12, burn hundreds of homes in 11 days of raids in Sagaing

September 2, 2022/in News

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The Power of Protest in Myanmar

September 5, 2022/in Justice Newsletters

The attempted coup in Myanmar is yet another example of the Generals of the Myanmar military trying and failing to exert power over a population who refuses to grant them any form of legitimacy. In response, the regime has not hesitated to brutally crack down on protesters.

The commemoration of the 1988 protests was recognized on 8 August 2022. Thirty-four years have passed since students led demonstrations against General Ne Win’s disastrous economic policies. At least three thousand people were killed in a rampage of assaults by the Myanmar Army.

Again, between October and December 2006, protesters were detained again in a series of pro-democracy strikes that aimed to bring awareness to the oppression against students. In 2007, the Saffron Revolution saw monks among the students, and activists, participate in a non-violent protest which was triggered by a national increase in fuel prices. Dozens were once again killed by the regime for peacefully protesting.

Lway Nhawt Ta’ang, Advocacy Manager, at the Ta’ang Women’s Organization (TWO), said, “The reason why there has been protests in Myanmar for more than 70-years is because this entire time the situation has not improved as much as it should.”

“The people of Myanmar do not want the dictatorship that was practiced for so many years before. They prefer the system of democracy,” she added. “The protests taking place currently aim to unite the country’s citizens in strong rejection of the coup and call for a return for democracy.”

Propelled by an insatiable hunger for power, the rights of civilians have been disregarded time and time again by the military generals. After several years of a quasi-civilian democracy, citizens were hopeful. Albeit, many challenges still remained under the National League for Democracy (NLD), yet there was hope.

General Secretary of the All-Arakan Students’ and Youths’ Congress,

Ko Ting Oo, said the coup has revealed the oppression that ethnic people face across Myanmar.

“As a result of the Spring Revolution, the majority of Burmese people began to accept and understand the oppression and human rights abuses that ethnic people face. For decades, we have been ruled unjustly.”

The unity throughout the pro-democracy protests are a reminder of the strength and adversity of people on the ground who are committed to see a federal union, and accountability for the human rights violations that have been perpetrated by the military junta.

“We cannot accept the military’s dictatorship. We have seen only negative consequences and no positive results throughout history,” said Nai Aue Mon, Program Director of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland.

“It is the true desire of the people to see consequences for the Generals. We are fed up, and tired of the military regimes,” he added.

They must provide financial support to the armed resistance and protesters, and boycott all military products. They must also honour the multiple calls of civil society organizations to refer the Myanmar Army to the International Criminal Court.

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Junta troops kill 12, burn hundreds of homes in 11 days of raids in Sagaing

September 2, 2022/in News

Sources said 20,000 residents from 80 villages fled their homes amid the attacks.

Junta troops in Myanmar’s Sagaing region have killed at least 12 civilians and burned down more than 500 houses in 11 days since entering the region’s northern townships of Kawlin, Kanbalu and Kyunhla, villagers and local defense groups said Friday.

Sources in the area told RFA Burmese that the military had set nearly 50 villages alight since Aug. 22, forcing more than 20,000 residents from 80 villages in the area to flee their homes for safety.

Nay Zin Lat, the former National League for Democracy (NLD) representative for Kanbalu township, said a dozen people had been killed over the past 11 days and that three villages in Kyunhla township were set on fire on Thursday alone.

“Kyunhla township’s Hmaw Tone village is still burning today,” he said.

“Eight unidentified bodies were found on Aug. 23 near [Kyunhla’s] Tei Pin Seik village. They might have been burned to death or killed by heavy weapons. We cannot confirm anything yet.”

Nay Zin Lat said three fighter jets fired at Kawlin township’s Thit Seint Kone village at around 11:20 p.m. the same day, adding that “five villagers were hit and only one survived.”

The Kawlin Revolution Group, an anti-junta paramilitary organization, told RFA that four people were killed in the attack, including six-year-old Pyisone, Moe Aung, Zin Myo Tun, and his nine-months pregnant wife, Phyu Zar Win.

RFA tried to contact family members of the victims but was unable to reach them because the phone lines were cut.

Local anti-junta People’s Defense Force (PDF) groups announced that more than 40 enemy troops were killed in a skirmish between the PDF and the military near the border of Kanbalu and Kawlin townships on Aug. 22-23, and that three officers and a cache of ammunition were captured.

A resident of Aung Chan Thar village told RFA that junta troops started burning his and other villages in Kawlin township as they passed through the next day.

“The troops that were airdropped into the area set fire to our village. The fighting took place on Aug. 22 and they started burning the village on the 23rd,” the resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“There used to be 75 houses in our village. They set fire to almost every village they entered. All those from our village are on the run and are depending on food donated by people nearby. But when it rains, life is miserable and we don’t have any food or medicine.”

A munition fragment from a Myanmar military jet lies on the ground in Kawlin township, Sagaing region, Aug. 24, 2022. Credit: Kawlin Revolution-KR

500 homes burned

Sources told RFA that more than 500 houses have been burned since Aug. 22, including 75 from Kawlin township’s Aung Chan Thar village, as well as 59 from Kone See village, two from Tei Pin Seik village, 95 from Ein Chay village, 17 from Inn Yar village, and 53 from Ywar Koe Gyi village — all in Kyunhla township. They said at least 220 houses were torched in three other villages as well, without providing details.

“Even my pucca (brick) building has turned to ashes. All 95 of the houses have been destroyed,” said a villager from Ein Chay, who also declined to be named, fearing reprisal.

“Right now, we don’t dare to stay [in the village] and we don’t have a place to live. All the villagers have fled. When it rains, everyone has a difficult time.”

Other sources said the military had cut off internet access in Kawlin and Kanbalu townships and that details of the arson attacks remain unknown.

A member of a local armed-resistance unit said junta troops are still stationed in Kyunhla’s Ywar Koe Gyi and Kaing Wun villages and that a nearby area came under attack by air raid on Thursday night.

“The army columns are not leaving. They aren’t going anywhere,” the fighter said.

“Last night, a jet fighter came and fired at some places between their forces and our camp. It was between Ywar Koe Gyi and Kaing Wun villages and there were no casualties.”

RFA contacted the junta’s minister for social affairs in Sagaing, Aye Hlaing, but was unable to reach him on Friday.

The latest offensive in Sagaing came days after an Aug. 17 meeting between junta chief Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and U.N. Special Representative Noeleen Heyzer, during which the former claimed that his forces were not responsible for using arson attacks against villages.

However, Data For Myanmar, a group that monitors the fires nationwide, said on Aug. 29 that a total of 28,434 homes have been burned across the country since the military’s Feb. 1, 2021, coup.

RFA News

Spring Revolution

Civil Society Position Paper on ASEAN’s Goal of a Myanmar-Owned and -Led SolutionDecember 18, 2024 - 12:11 pm
Recommendations to ASEAN and Its Member States (1) Move beyond the 5PC to achieve a Myanmar people-led and people-centered solution to the crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN’s “Myanmar-owned and -led” approach must be backed by genuine political will that aligns with and supports the collective aspirations of the people of Myanmar. (2) Cease all pressure on […]
The Airstrikes after the journey to the China of the Junta Military LeaderDecember 10, 2024 - 1:28 pm
Operation 1027 was a coordinated military attack against the junta on October 27th, 2023. It was carried out by the Northern Brotherhood, which includes the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. Several months later, the Three Brotherhood Alliance held three meetings to negotiate with China on January 11 […]
Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 15 to 21, 2024)September 27, 2024 - 8:26 am
Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Sep 15 to 21, 2024 Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Shan State, Chin State, Rakhine State, and Kachin State from September 15th to 21st. The Military Junta committed arresting, occupying the properties, threatening by using power, and […]

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ND Burma

ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.

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